Edward Said described a public intellectual as someone who uses accessible language to address a designated public on matters of social and political significance. The essays in
Public Intellectuals in South Africa apply this interpretive prism and activist principle to a South African context and tell the stories of well-known figures as well as some that have been mostly forgotten. They include Magema Fuze, John Dube, Aggrey Klaaste, Mewa Ramgobin and Koos Roets, alongside marginalised figures such as Elijah Makiwane, Mandisi Sindo, William Pretorius and Dr Thomas Duncan Greenlees.
The essays capture the thoughts and opinions of these historical figures, who the contributors argue are public intellectuals who spoke out against the corruption of power, promoted a progressive politics that challenged the colonial project and its legacies, and encouraged a sustained dissent of the political status quo. Offering fascinating accounts of the life and work of these writers, critics and activists across a range of historical contexts and disciplines, from journalism and arts criticism to history and politics, it enriches the historical record of South African public intellectual life.
This volume makes a significant contribution to ongoing debates about the value of research in the arts and humanities, and what constitutes public intellectualism in South Africa.
Tabella dei contenuti
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Prismatic Nature of Public Intellectualism — Chris Broodryk
Chapter 1 Recalibrating the Deep History of Intellectual Thought in the Kwa Zulu-Natal Region — Carolyn Hamilton
Chapter 2 Elijah Makiwane and Early Black South African Public Intellectualism — Luvuyo Mthimkhulu Dondolo
Chapter 3 Black Art Criticism in The Bantu World during the 1930s — Pfunzo Sidogi
Chapter 4 In Conversation with the Nation: Sowetan’s Maverick Editor Aggrey Klaaste — Lesley Cowling
Chapter 5 William Pretorius and the Public Intellectualism of the Film Critic — Chris Broodryk
Chapter 6 Cultural Policy and the Arts: Mewa Ramgobin and Public Dialogue — Keyan G. Tomaselli
Chapter 7 ‘Kaalgat Critique’: The Public Intellectualism of Koos Roets as Afrikaans Satirist — Anna-Marié Jansen van Vuuren
Chapter 8 The Public Intellectualism of Artivist Mandisi Sindo — Katlego Chale
Chapter 9 The Janus-Faced Public Intellectual: Dr Thomas Duncan Greenlees at the Institute for Imbecile Children, 1895–1907 — Rory du Plessis
Contributors
Index
Circa l’autore
Keyan Tomaselli is Distinguished Professor at the University of Johannesburg.
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